Dear Section Members

After a busy period in the run-up to submissions for the upcoming annual EUPHA meeting (19th European Public Health Conference to be held in Bilbao, Spain, from 10-13 November 2026), we are pleased to report that a very large number of submissions were received in the topic area of public mental health. It was fantastic to see so many strong proposals, many of which were in partnership with other EUPHA sections and in important topic areas, as well as many submissions featuring research by early career researchers. Abstracts are presently being assessed by the International Scientific Committee.

Whilst we are waiting to hear about the final programme for conference, we wanted to provide you with some important updates to section activities:

1. WHO/ EUPHA Capacity building opportunity: New accredited training programme for strengthening public health workforce capacity for mental health promotion and prevention

DEADLINE for applications 26 May 2026

EUPHA, in collaboration with WHO/Europe, is organizing a capacity‑building programme to strengthen public health workforce capacity for mental health promotion and prevention.

What to expect

• Five interactive webinars delivered between 10 September and 15 October 2026 (11:30–13:00 CEST)
• One-day synthesis conference to be held on 10 November 2026 in Bilbao, Spain, as a pre-conference event of the EPH Conference.

The programme is designed for:

• Public health professionals working in policy, practice and research.
• Professionals collaborating with mental health services and community settings.
• Professionals working in EU Member States, Iceland and Norway.

Curriculum and accreditation

The curriculum is aligned with the WHO–ASPHER Competency Framework for the Public Health Workforce (2020) and the ASPHER Core Curriculum Programme for Public Health (2024).

The programme will be covering the following topics:

• strategies for addressing and reducing stigma
• advancing research on mental health prevention
• intersectoral collaboration – “mental health in all policies”
• integrating lived and living experience
• integrating mental health data for surveillance and monitoring.

Successful participants will be awarded 7.5 APHEA credits for completion of the webinar series, with with an additional 5 credits for participation in the synthesis conference.​ To receive the EUPHAcademy Certificate, participants must attend all webinars (live or recorded), complete pre‑ and post‑assessments, and submit a completed workbook. Conference participation is optional and provides additional credits.

The first accredited cohort will target 120 professionals. Selection will aim to ensure balanced representation, professional relevance and meaningful inclusion of people with lived and living experience.

For more information: EUPHA – Apply to the EUPHA and WHO/Europe public health workforce capacity‑building programme for mental health promotion and prevention

Apply here until 26 May 2026!

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2. 
   

   EUPHA Public Mental Health section ‘Linked in’ group

Thanks to all those who have already joined this group. We hope that this may become a useful platform for colleagues to network and connect prior to the upcoming conference. If you haven’t yet joined, please feel free to join using the following link: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/17546014/

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Best wishes

Professor Jayati Das-Munshi, Kings College London, UK

President for the Section of Public Mental Health, EUPHA

Professor Ulrich Reininghaus, Central Institute of Mental Health Mannheim, Germany

Vice President for the Section of Public Mental Health, EUPHA